Press

IDG’s PCWorld.com Wins Maggie Award
for Best Online Publication

SAN FRANCISCO, APRIL 18 — At an award ceremony held last Friday at the Folio:West Show in Los Angeles, the Western Publications Association (WPA) honored PCWorld.com (www.pcworld.com) with the Maggie Award for Best Online Publication. An unprecedented feat, this is the third time in the five-year history of this award category that the site has taken home the new media prize. PC World's staff has won an impressive 17 Maggie Awards since 1988.

"PC World's mission is to deliver quality editorial to a management-level audience of computer product buyers-both online and off. This award proves the site is succeeding in that mission. In fact, no other online publication has earned this honor as many times as PCWorld.com," commented Jeff Edman, president and CEO of PC World Communications, Inc. "Congratulations to the entire staff on their achievement."

"This trophy is certainly a testament to the dedication of the editorial team, as well as the programmers and artists who work behind the scenes to ensure PCWorld.com is efficient and visually compelling," praised Bill Snyder, editor-in-chief of PCWorld.com. "By any measure, the site is outstanding-but we're not about to rest on our laurels. In early fall, PCWorld.com will undergo a top-to-bottom redesign to streamline the pages, improve the design, speed the navigation and add even more online-exclusive features, news stories, and resources."

The PCWorld.com staff has already unveiled several new features. Currently, the site delivers at least 20 original stories, reviews, and tips every business day-or 400 items every month not found in the newsstand issue of PC World. This month, the site launched "Consumer Advice" (www.pcworld.com/consumer), a new online section devoted to helping consumers protect their interests. The page brings together the best consumer articles from the award-winning print publication with original online-exclusive columns, features, and news stories. From PC Reliability and Service rankings to the latest in Internet scams, from online shopping to privacy tools, "Consumer Advice" offers a rich array of resources and information.

In addition, PCWorld.com just partnered with sister site WebShopper to add a valuable new service that makes it easier than ever for buyers of technology to find the best possible prices. On articles that have products associated with them, visitors can now click on a "Check Latest Prices" link, which offers unbiased pricing information from more than 1,000 vendors.

Demonstrating the depth and breadth of PC World's talented print and online staff, the publication was a Maggie finalist in six categories: Best Online Publication PCWorld.com (www.pcworld.com) Best Regularly Featured Department Consumer Watch, March, June, Oct. 1999 Best Color Editorial Layout/Consumer Find It On the Web, June 1999 Best Computer/Consumer Publication October 1999 Best Overall Design/Consumer December 1999 Best Special Theme Issue/Consumer Web@Warp Speed, March 1999

Hosted by the Western Publications Association, the 44th Annual Maggie Awards honored the year's finest in editorial and design in magazines, tabloids, newsletters and new media published in or distributed to the 14 western states. The WPA's membership represents more than 500 consumer and trade publications. This year, nearly 2,000 entries were judged in 80 categories, according to strict guidelines for editorial and design excellence.

PC World Communications, Inc. is the publisher of PC World (www.pcworld.com) and WebShopper (www.webshopper.com) and is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading IT media, research and exposition company. The winner of the 1999 and 2000 Grand Neal Award for editorial excellence, PC World is the world's largest computer publication with a circulation rate base of 1.25 million. With more than 1.4 million unique visitors per month (Media Metrix, February 2000), PCWorld.com is a leading online resource for PC-product buyers and users. IDG publishes more than 290 computer magazines and newspapers and 4,000 book titles in 80 countries and offers online users the largest network of technology-specific sites around the world through IDG.net ( http://www.idg.net ), which comprises more than 250 targeted Web sites in 55 countries. IDG is also a leading producer of 168 computer-related expositions in 35 countries, and research arm International Data Corporation (IDC) provides computer industry research and analysis through 49 offices in 42 countries worldwide. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com.